THE STATION AND THE GUDHJEM RAILWAY
Gudhjem Museum’s permanent local history exhibition
When you arrive at the museum, you are greeted by the sight of the old locomotive entering the station. A very small section of the original railway track has been reconstructed where the tracks originally ran.
The entire old station building has been preserved, including the luggage room, vestibule and waiting room.
The former luggage room houses a permanent exhibition telling the story of the old railway through text and photographs, together with a selection of objects from the time when the station was still in operation.
In the waiting room, a fascinating new film, “På Sporet af Sporet”, shows the route along which the railway once ran. In the film, Bent Boesen shares many amusing and interesting anecdotes about the creation of the railway, its buildings – both stations and halts – and events connected with its operation.
Make yourself comfortable in the waiting room’s original furniture and enjoy the film.
Opening periods 2026
28 March – 3 May
9 May – 5 July
11 July – 23 August
29 August – 18 October
EXHIBITION DETAILS
In the centre of the room stands a precisely crafted model of locomotive no. 21. The model has kindly been loaned by Pauli Larsen and has been meticulously made down to the smallest detail.
The fine old ticket window, where tickets for the train were once purchased, is still preserved.
This is where passengers handed in their luggage and goods to be transported by train.
This is where passengers handed in their luggage and goods to be transported by train.
The old telephone of the stationmaster still hangs on the wall.
The ash-wood swing door between the small vestibule and the waiting room helps to retain the warmth in the waiting room. The leaded-glass windows are protected at the bottom by an iron grille. The architects Fisker and Rafn, who designed the station building, also designed the interior fittings – here are some of the original chairs.
This is where the film about the station and the railway is shown, in the waiting room.
The bench shown in the picture was known as the “Siddelsen”.
It is described as follows: “The Siddelsen in the waiting room is a cosy corner where the fate of many Gudhjem residents seems to have been sealed, although it was not a public meeting place for young people. Nevertheless, many spent many hours here waiting in comfort and good company.”
Also note that the ceiling above the Siddelsen is lowered.
“Old cast-iron plates from kitchen ranges have been used as the doors in front of the tiled stove.
(A great many of these are currently being lost due to the high price of iron in the melting furnaces, resulting in the loss of works of considerable artistic value.)” the architects wrote.
The tiled stove was later replaced by a fireplace insert.
